Master Gudo Nishijima has been practicing Buddhism for more than sixty years.
He was a student of Master Kodo Sawaki, an itinerant priest famous
for his efforts to restore Zazen to its rightful place at the center
of Buddhism. Master Nishijima was ordained as a priest by the
late Master Rempo Niwa, formerly head of the Soto Sect,
and has written many books on Buddhism
in both Japanese and in English.
For over twenty years, he has been
giving instructions on Zazen and lectures in English.
See here for details.

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Saturday, September 29, 2007

Important principles in Shbogenzo (5) Ju-undo-shiki

111]

(1) People who have the will to the truth and who discard fame and gain may enter. We should not randomly admit those who might be insincere. If someone is admitted by mistake, we should, after consideration, make them leave.

(People, who have strong will to pursue the Truth, can enter. We should never accept people, who are diligent to get fame or profit. If such a kind of people, who are so diligent to pursue fame or profit, have entered into the Dojo with mistake, it is necessary for us to expel such a person after considering the situations.)

Buddhist life is a life, in which we make our efforts to research the Truth diligently, therefore if someone begun to study Buddhism for getting fame or profit, such efforts must be useless for everyone to do, because it might be a kind of solely losing time. Therefore, in the Dojo, where the practice of Zazen has been done in Japan for the first time, Master Dogen requests that if there were a person, who does not have the will to the Truth, because of having desire for fame or profit, even though he has entered into the Dojo with mistake, he should be expelled from the Dojo after investigation.

(2) Remember, when the will to the truth has secretly arisen, fame and gain evaporate at once.

(If someone has had the will to the Truth, his desire for fame or profit, must vanish at one.)

But actually speaking human societies, in which we are just living now, can been seen as if they are mixture of pursuing fame and profit. Therefore what Master Dogen says here might sound very strange. However, if we think about the real situations of human societies, the people, who are living in 21st Century, have lost perfectly the belief in the existence of the Truth. And when we think about the reason, why we, human beings, have lost the belief in the existence of the Truth, such facts come from the historical facts, which we have experiensted since the ancient time. For example in the ancient Greco-Roman Age, we, human beings, have found the two kinds of very powerful philosophies, that is, Idealism and Materialism. And the two fundamental philosophies both have emerged from intellectual consideration, therefore those two philosophies have common characteristic philosophies of intellectualism, but at the same time the two fundamental philosophies are based on perfectly different human abilities of consideration and sensous perception, and so it is completely impossible for human beings to prefer only one philosophy between the two. In other words if we, human beings, pursue the Truth intellectually, it is perfectly impossible for us to grasp only one truth between the two philosophies at all. Therefore we can say that we, human beings, have lived in the society, where there is no Truth. Because the existence of two kinds of so-called truthes suggests the belief in the existence of two kinds of so-called truths, and such facts suggest that we, human beings, have been impossible to find only one Truth for thousands of years.Therefore if we, human beings, want to grasp only one ultimate Truth, we have to throw away the two kinds of intellectual so-called truths, and we should enter into a different kind of Truth, which can exist as only one. In such a situation Gautama Buddha recomenended us to leave from intellectual area for entering into the area of Realism. And Master Dogen proclaimed that if we want to enter into the area of Reality, it is necessary for us to throw away fame, which is a symbol of idealism, and we should also throw away profit, which is a symbol of materialism.And Master Dogen proclaimes his experience sincerely that if we can have the sincere desire to grasp the Truth, our desire for fame and profit will vanish soon perfectly.

112]

(3) So now that each of us is meeting what is hard to meet, and is practicing what is hard to practice, we must not lose our sincerity. This [sincerity] is called the body-and-mind of the Buddhist patriarchs; it inevitably becomes buddha and becomes a patriarch.

(Therefore, actually now, we have met what is just too difficult to meet, and what is too difficult to have a chance to practice actually. So we should never forget the sincerity. The sincerity is called body and mind of Buddhist Patriarchs. And a person, who has actually keeping the sincerity, will become Buddha and will become Patriarchs inevitably.)

In such meaning Master Dogen recommended us to throw away our two kinds of desire, that is, fame and profit completely.

113]

(4) Now is just the time to [practice as if to] put out a fire on our head.

(Now it is just the moment when should practice Zazen forgetting everything as if we were making our efforts to put out fire, which were burning our hair actually now.)

Buddhism is a philosophy of action. And so if our hair is burning just now, it is not important for us to consider that it is necessary for us to put out fire, or to cry without doing anything, but the most important behavior for us must be just to put out fire itself.

114]

(5) While we are in the Hall we should not read the words of even Zen texts. In the Hall we should realize the principles and pursue the state of truth. When we are before a bright window, we can enlighten the mind with the teachings of the ancients.

(While we are in Zazen-do, we should not read any kind of books, even in the case of Buddhist books. In Zazen-do we should realize the authentic posture of Zazen to follow the state of the Truth. When we are in the building for studying Buddhist theory, we should select a adequate place to read books for studying ancient Masters' Buddhist theories.)

Master Dogen clearly divided our intellectual efforts and practical efforts philosophically, and so he has recommended us, in Zazen-do, or Zazen Hall, we should practice Zazen solely.

115]

(6) We should not strike other people for their mistakes.

(We should never strike others, because they have comitted their mistakes.)

We should never strike others because of their making mistakes. It is necessary for us to teach others for correcting their mistakes, but we should never hit others because of making mistakes. Nowadays in Japanese Buddhist temples there are many examples for senior disciples to hit younger monks, but such habits manifest seriously wrong habit in the age, when the true Buddhism has been degenerated so much.

117]

(7) In the Hall we should not practice ceremonial walking.

(In Zazen Hall we should not practice ceremonial walking for reciting Sutra.)

In Buddhist temple we, monks, have sometimes walking in a winding line for reciting Sutra, but Master Dogen has refused to do so in Zazen Hall, because he thinks that Zazen Hall should be used only for practicing Zazen and sleeping for monks at night.

118]

(8) In the Hall we should not chant, or read sutras.

(In Zazen Hall, we should not recite Sutra or reading even Buddhist books.)

A Zazen Hall is a building, where Buddhist monks should practice Zazen only, and at night it is used for monks to sleep. Therefore Master Dogen has decided that Zazen Hall should never used for reciting Sutra or reading even Buddhist books.

120]

(9) If two people quarrel, both should be sent back to their quarters, because they not only hinder their own practice of the truth, but also hinder others.

(If Buddhist monks are in quarrel, those two monks should be moved to another room inevitably. Because they disturb not only their own practice of Zazen, but also they disturb others' Zazen in the Hall.)

When people are quarreling, they usually have lost their own balance of ANS. Therefore we can say that monks, who are quarrelling, are very shameful. Therefore it is permissible for Buddhist monks to talk or discuss with each other, but they should never quarrel at all.